In an article discussing the myths about low vision, Wayne Dick, Professor of Computer Science at California State University, argues that advocacy groups, governments, institutions and even the W3C WCAG Working Group focus on the accommodations necessary for people who are blind to the exclusion of the needs of people with vision impairment.
For website purposes, there are two categories of people with vision impairment: visual readers with vision impairment and non-visual readers with vision impairment. Many of the accommodations made for people who are blind can be beneficial for non-visual readers. However, they are usually not helpful for visual readers with low vision, who have different needs.
To address these issues, the article looks at the myths of people with vision impairment, namely:
- People with vision impairments need text alternative for non-text content
- People with vision impairment use screen magnification for their primary accommodation
- Large print with word wrapping allows access
- People with vision impairments always need keyboard access
- If you see the print in a document, then you can read and finish the document
Dick concludes by stating, “Standard bodies and policy makers will have to rethink their approach to low vision accessibility.”
Read the full article on myths about low vision on the Knowbility website.
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